Brighton Beach Memoirs

Rastar. Director Gene Saks; Producer Ray Stark; Screenplay Neil Simon; Camera John Bailey; Editor Carol Littleton; Music Michael Small; Art Director Stuart Wurtzel

Blythe Danner
Bob Dishy
Brian Dillinger
Stacey Glick
Judith Ivey
Lisa Waltz

The first of Neil Simon's semi-autobiographical trilogy, Brighton Beach bowed in Los Angeles in late 1982 and opened in New York in March, 1983.

Set in 1937 in a lower-middle class section of Brooklyn, story details assorted life crises of members of the Jerome family, hard-working moral Jews whose problems are all taken to heart by Mama Kate, played by Blythe Danner.

Despite the assurance of verbal reprisals, all family members are expected to speak their minds and share their difficulties (there can be no secrets anyway, since nothing can escape Mama's notice). Emotions are fully felt, responsibilities accepted and decisions taken, not avoided.

Performances are skilled all the way through.

(Color) Available on VHS, DVD. Extract of a review from 1986. Running time: 108 MIN.

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